It is framed by two bronze statues of seated figures by Paul Raphael Montford, cast at the M. Maneti foundry.[2] One depicts a soldier of the East Surrey Regiment, dressing his own wounded arm; the other a woman holding a child in her left arm and a letter in her outstretched right hand: her distress is evident, and "[w]e must presume that the news of her husband's perhaps fatal wounds has just reached her".[1][3][4] The figure of the soldier was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1921.[3]
The dates "1939 ⋅ 1945" were added after the end of the Second World War. The lines "AND IN MEMORY ... SINCE" were added in 1997.[2]
The cenotaph was granted Grade II listed status on 19 November 1973, both in its own right[2][3] and as part of a group of municipal buildings, legally protecting it from unauthorised modification or demolition.[2][5] Its status was upgraded to Grade II* on 27 July 2017.[3]
